German Unification Research Articles

European integration and the Germany Issue: the simultaneous formation of Economic and Monetary Union and German Unification

이 글에서는 독일문제의 성격을 유럽사의 맥락에서 고찰하였다. 특히 역사적으로 독일문제에 대한 하나의 해결책으로 독일통일을 거론하는 관점을 소개하면서, 이 시기 논의되었던 유럽 경제통화동맹 창설에 대해 설명하였다. 독일문제에 대한 해결책으로서 독일통일이 독일을 제외한 유럽국가들에게 우려를 낳게 한다는 점과 이러한 이웃국가들의 염려를 불식시키면서 독일통일을 달성하는 과제를 성공적으로 완수하였다는 점을 설명하였다. 또한 유럽경제통화동맹 창설과 관련하여 독일 내에서는 유로화 도입을 위한 마르크화의 포기가 독일통일을 위한 길을 열기 위한 대가로 지급되었다는 견해와 독일 통일을 위해 마르크화를 포기한 거래는 없었고, 통화동맹 문제는 독일통일 결정 과정에서 작은 역할을 했다는 시각이 대치하고 있었다는 내용을 소개하였다. 결론적으로 경제통화동맹 창설과 독일통일의 문제는 동시적으로 프랑스와 서독 양국 이해관계에 따라 전개되었고, 서독은 독일통일을, 프랑스는 유럽통화를 얻게 되는 역사적 거래가 성사되었던 것이다. 따라서 마르크화가 독일통일을 위해 유럽통합의 제단에 희생되었다는 견해도 과장된 미사여구로만 흘려들을 수는 없을 것이다.

Internal Migration and Mental Health - Relevant Factors 20 and 30 years after Unification: Results of a Longitudinal Study in German

Aim The aim of the present study was to determine the relevant factors in the mental health of people who experienced internal migration in comparison with people who did not. Methods Data from a longitudinal study in Saxony were used to compare the psychological distress of individuals who migrated internally with that of those who did not in 2010 and 2020. Bootstrapping-based mediation analysis was applied to examine possible mediators between internal migration and mental health.Results Individuals who experienced internal migration reported less mental distress compared to those who did not in 2010, but not in 2020, but these effects disappeared after including covariates and mediators. Important mediators in 2010 were life situation, political solidarity with FRG, winner of German Unification and job security; in 2020, these were threat of old-age poverty and experiences with system.Discussion Internal migration influences mental distress through different factors. Especially the current life circumstances play a crucial role.

"Honecker's Vassal" or a Prehistorian in the Service of Science? The Evaluation of Former East German Scholarship and the Concept of the Scholar in the Debate on Joachim Herrmann in Reunified Germany.

The evaluation and transformation process of the GDR research system in the wake of German reunification 1989/90 was immediately accompanied not only by debates within the scientific community, but also by an extensive discussion about the value and future perspectives of East German scholarship and its protagonists in the nationally circulated press. In 1990, the focus turned temporarily to the prominent East German prehistorian Joachim Herrmann after his election to the board of an international historical association. The article uses the example of Herrmann and the public discussion about him as a case study to examine the status of, and changes in, the authority of scholarship and the scholar in the context of the evaluation and restructuring of the East German research landscape in the early 1990s. A selection of press articles from nationwide German newspapers and newsmagazines, as well as archival letters exchanged between different participants in the debate serve as prisms carving out the central arguments and subjacent structures of the discussion. Therefore, Herrmann's case exposes generic characteristics of (different concepts of) scientific authority and the close connection between its negotiation and the search for identity in the newly reunited German academic sphere.

Italy, the Reunification of Germany and the End of the Cold War (1983 - 1990)

Italy, the Reunification of Germany and the End of the Cold War (1983 - 1990)

The Institutionalization of Research Ethics Committees in Germany – International Integration or in the Shadow of Nuremberg?

Abstract Although already established in West Germany since the 1970s, with the introduction of research ethics committees (rec s) into the Tokyo revision of the Declaration of Helsinki, they gained in importance. From 1985, a duty to consult rec s in human subject research was written into West German physicians’ codes of conduct. In East Germany (“Deutsche Demokratische Republik”, ddr), a central rec was set up in 1981 within the ddr Ministry of Health, and after German reunification, a duty to consult rec s was introduced in the federal Medical Products Act (Arzneimittelgesetz). Since 2001, European regulations were incorporated into national laws which applied in Germany as in other member states. Regarding the institution and legal history of rec s in Germany, this contribution seeks to answer three questions: (1) Were rec s developed in response to a specifically German experience of medical crimes and the abuse of human research subjects, or were they part of an internationalization of medical research ethics and international integration of German research? (2) Was the setting up of rec s in Germany a more top-down, centralized process or a more bottom-up, grassroots undertaking, and what does this tell us about the status that biomedical researchers gave to the ethics of human subject research in that period? And (3) who has traditionally held authority over human subject research in Germany and who holds it today?

50 Years of Capital Mobility in the Eurozone: Breaking the Feldstein-Horioka Puzzle

This paper assesses capital mobility for the Eurozone countries by studying the long-run relationship between domestic investment and savings for the period 1970-2019. Our main goal is to analyze the impact of economic events on capital mobility during this period. We apply the cointegration methodology in a setting that allows us to identify endogenous breaks in the long-run saving-investment relationship. Precisely, the breaks coincide with relevant economic events. We find a downward trend in the saving-investment retention since the 70s for the so-called “core countries”, whereas this trend is not so evident in the peripheral, where the financial and sovereign crises have had a more substantial impact. In addition, our analysis captures other economic events: the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) crisis, the German reunification, the European financial assistance program, and the post-crisis period. Our results also indicate that the original euro design had some flaws that remain unsolved.

Identifying emerging environmental concerns from long-chain chlorinated paraffins towards German ecosystems

Germany is one of several major European producers of chlorinated paraffins (CPs). This study showed that not only the legacy short-chain products (SCCPs, C10–13), but also the current-use medium- and long-chain products (MCCPs, C14–17; LCCPs, C>17) as well as the very-short-chain impurities (vSCCPs, C<10) are ubiquitous in the 72 samples collected from the coastal, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems across the country. The concentrations of LCCPs surpassed those of the other CPs in 40% of the biota samples. Archived bream samples collected downstream of a CP-manufacturing factory showed decreasing temporal trends of (v)SCCPs and relatively constant levels of MCCPs from 1995 to 2019; however, the overall levels of LCCPs have increased by 290%, reflecting the impact of chemical regulation policies on changes in CP production. A visualization algorithm was developed for integrating CP results from various matrices to illustrate spatial tendencies of CP pollution. Higher levels of (v)SCCPs were indicated in the former West Germany region, while MCCP and LCCP concentrations did not seem to differ between former East and West Germany, suggesting relatively equal production and use of these chemicals after the German Reunification. The results provide an early warning signal of environmental concerns from LCCPs on the eve of their booming global production and use.

Wishing the wall back: the struggles of eight “unification losers” in post-socialist Berlin

ABSTRACT Nowhere in Eastern Europe was the transition from socialism to capitalism so quickly accomplished as in East Germany, courtesy of unification with its wealthy western counterpart. To ascertain the impact of such changes on urban homelessness and the lived experiences of homeless people, I conducted original ethnographic research among 28 homeless people in Berlin including seven respondents who lived and grew up in former German Democratic Republic (GDR), East Berlin and, in one case, Poland during the late 1990s. In this paper, I am revisiting their experiences by focusing on four themes including 1) initial attitudes toward German unification, 2) adjusting to capitalism, 3) experiences with public support, and 4) social alienation, disaffiliation, and nostalgia demonstrating that the rapidity of changes and short duration of “post-socialism” outpaced the emotional, affective capabilities of most former East German respondents trying to adapt to the new, post-industrial, and increasingly “Americanized” circumstances..

Renaming of Hallervorden\u2013Spatz disease: the second man behind the name of the disease

Hallervorden–Spatz disease (HSD) has been recently renamed to pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN) and neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA), mainly due to the unethical behavior of Julius Hallervorden in the National Socialist (NS) euthanasia program of the Nazi Third Reich. The role of the second name giver in the NS euthanasia program is less clear. Hugo Spatz was the director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Brain Research in Berlin-Buch during World War II (WWII), renamed to Max Planck Institute after 1945. After the war, he headed the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt am Main. The present study investigates the potential involvement of Hugo Spatz in the NS euthanasia program. In the present study, we compared a list of euthanasia victims from the German Federal Archive Berlin (30.146 cases published after the reunification of Germany, BArch R179) with the files of the collection of specimens from 1940 until 1945 of Hugo Spatz as listed in the Archive of the Max Planck Society Berlin-Dahlem (n = 305). Furthermore, the old term HSD and the new terms PKAN and NBIA were systematically searched in PubMed from 1946, through January 2019 to evaluate the renaming process from HSD to PKAN/NBIA. Following Hugo Spatz’s death in 1969 growing evidence indicated that he may have taken part in the NS euthanasia program. This study identifies 4 euthanized victims in the patient files of Hugo Spatz from 1940 to 1945, suggesting involvement of Hugo Spatz in the NS euthanasia program. This further strengthens the argument that the former HSD should be exclusively referred to as PKAN or NBIA.

Prussian Militarism and the German Wars of Unification

This paper explains how Prussian militarism gained a sense of supremacy and invisibility through the German Wars of Unification. Beginning with Prussia’s rule in defeating Napoleon from 1813, Prussia became in the center of German nationalism. After defeating Napoleon, Prussian militarism went into hibernation, as the monarchs abandoned the idea of nationalism and tried to put Europe back together. The prospect of German Unification became possible under Bismarck. The final step of German Unification was the war against France, as Prussia was portrayed as Germany's savior against French aggression.

독일] 독일사 연구의 ‘연속’과 ‘불연속’ - 위기에 응답하는 2019~2020년 연구의 진단과 전망 -

This paper comprehensively reviews the achievements of German history research in Korea during the last two years (2019-2020). First, the research results during that period decreased slightly in terms of the total number of published papers amid the impact of Covid-19, but it showed unprecedented great progress in monographs including books and translations. Second, if we look at the research in the field classified as ‘continuous’, it leads to a further expansion of the scope of research in the field of transnational history, while in history education and public history a large number of research papers have also been published. In addition, certain research results were also found in the field of political history and studies related to German unification. Third, looking at the research fields grouped as ‘discontinuous’, although many researchers did not participate, meaningful research results were still obtained in social movement history, corporate history, economic history, urban history, etc. Good papers have been published in studies of the early modern era, including the history of emotions. One of the characteristics of Korean studies on German history is that it responds to the demands of the times, and it is quite unfortunate that there are too few research results in women/gender history and environmental history, which are representative fields that require such a role. Finally, in the context of a new historical interpretation caused by the coronavirus crisis, it is expected that German history researchers will take the lead.

Effective Coordination and Governance of PGRFA Conservation and Use at the National Level-The Example of Germany.

Recognition of the importance of plant genetic resources started in Germany at the end of the 19th century. Plant research and breeding began to develop in the 1920s. Formal structures of public institutions were founded, long-term conservation facilities were established, private breeding initiatives developed. In 1990, the German reunification required an assessment of the existing research and breeding landscape. This milestone allowed a comprehensive overview of the great number of stakeholders, active in the entire range of tasks related to plant genetic resources. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture then developed a conceptual approach for an efficient governance structure and published its concept of a national programme for the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources for food and agriculture in 2000. It recognized the sharing of decentral responsibilities among the respective public and private actors and governmental levels with dis-tributed mandates and funding. It also led to the establishment of a central information and coordination center for genetic resources, which facilitates the data sharing, communication, and co-operation among stakeholders, supports public awareness and advises the Federal Ministry on national policies and efficient European and global cooperation. It also supports efficient contributions of German stakeholders into European structures and international bodies. An equivalent conceptual approach and governance structure is recommended to be established at European level.

Berlin: Narratives of metropolitan transition and national unity

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the reunification of Germany in 1990 profoundly changed the role of Berlin. The move of the capital from Bonn to Berlin was to take nearly a decade. In the process, the complex national agenda of reunification was projected onto a city rich in meaningful landmarks and cultural developments. In the 1990s, carefully orchestrated building and marketing strategies focused on urban revival at select locations, including the new government quarter and Potsdamer Platz. Today, however, 1990s Berlin is remembered for the contemporary countercultures that serve to epitomize the city’s creativity over time. This article explores how Berlin developed post-Wall narratives of new beginnings that affirmed a sense of identity well beyond that of the role of national capital.

The Role of Substitute Industries for Revitalizing Shrinking Cities

In past decades, many cities and regions have underwent structural transformations—e.g., in old industrialized “rust belts” or in peripheral rural areas. Many of these shrinking cities have to face the challenges of long-term demographic and economic changes. While shrinkage is often related to post-industrial transformations in the USA, in other countries, such as Germany, for example, the causes are related to changing demographics with declining birth rates and the effects of the German reunification. Many cities have tried to combat shrinkage and have thus developed a variety of policies and strategies such as the establishing of substitute industries. To assess the sustainability of this approach, this paper investigates the cities of Cleveland, USA and Bochum, Germany in a comparative analysis following the most similar/most different research design. The paper shows that substitute industries might lead to new development paths for shrinking cities; however, whether these paths stimulate sustainable development is dependent on those who are benefiting from these developments and to what extent.

Transformation East Fuels Transformation West: Tendencies in Cultural Politics and Its Transformations in the Process of German Unification

Transformation East Fuels Transformation West: Tendencies in Cultural Politics and Its Transformations in the Process of German Unification

Речевые практики в немецкоязычном социуме эпохи Реформации в аспекте лингвоцентричности

The article discusses some of the phenomena and processes associated with speech and written texts in the German-speaking society of the Reformation (early 16th century) when it received wide access to a printed text in the national language. In the absence of a unified German language this has contributed to the variability of speech communicative practices in a wide range, covering from elite to vulgar audience, as the former shifted from academic forms to “people’s” vernacular and the latter was introduced to the written language culture as a means of public communication.

THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL: MEMORIES AND REFLECTIONS OF A WITNESS THIRTY YEARS LATER

On 9 November 2019 the thirtieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall which is undoubtedly the most important historical event since the end of the Second World War was celebrated almost all over the world. First of all, this article is dedicated to the historical events that led to the division of Germany in the immediate post-war period, to the evolution of relations between the two Germanys and, at a global level, between the two opposing blocs at the time of the “cold war” up to the fall of the Wall, on behalf of which the author, who was residing in Berlin at the time, also provides direct testimony. In the second part he moves on to examine the short and long term effects of the fall of the Wall for Germany, for Europe and for the whole world. The multiple problematic aspects are highlighted at each of these levels: a) in particular, with regard to the internal events in Germany, attention falls both on the juridical aspects of reunification (whether it was a matter of reunification on an equal basis or rather an “annexation” of the conquered state by the winner) and the social ones (whether the process of social reunification and cohesion – compared with the analogous processes that have taken place in Italy between North and South – can be said to be complete and successful); b) at the European level the influence that German unification has exerted on the integration process is analyzed. The institution of the single currency, the Euro, in the image and likeness of the old German Mark, as well as the expansion of the EU by accepting new members and attracting countries previously belonging to the Soviet bloc to the western one for mostly geopolitical reasons are definitely determined; c) finally, as regards international relations, the article follows the passage from the illusion of the “end of history” and the relaunch of the United Nations on the basis of values and objectives that are now common, thanks to the end of the Cold War, to the current reality of the “new cold war” and the “fragmented third world war”, characterized by the spread of numerous conflicts of different nature.

Do political systems have a lasting effect on climate change concern? Evidence from Germany after reunification

Support for climate policy depends on the public’s perception of climate change costs. Assessing the determinants of climate change attitudes contributes to explaining cross-country differences in climate policy implementation. In this paper, I examine the influence of experience with a political system on individuals’ concern for the consequences of climate change. To address biases introduced by the endogeneity of the political system, I use the natural experiment created by the division and reunification of Germany. I find evidence suggesting that experience with the political system of East Germany has a lasting negative effect on climate change concern that is discernible more than 20 years after reunification. Results suggest that the influence of political institutions on climate change attitudes and policy adoption can persist long after they have been replaced.

Comparison of the Abitur examination in mathematics in Germany before and after reunification in 1990

In Germany, the Abitur is the highest qualification granted at the end of secondary education after 12 or 13 years of schooling; it provides a general university entrance qualification. Traditionally, written and oral examinations are required to obtain the Abitur. Until 1990, there were mainly decentralized examinations in mathematics in West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany [FRG]), which were taken after 13 school years, and a centralized examination that students took after 12 years of school in East Germany (German Democratic Republic [GDR]). In the unified Germany, examinations are now increasingly set by the 16 individual federal states. This paper has a special focus on changes and permanent features in the written Abitur examination in mathematics in Germany in the context of the social changes caused by the German reunification in 1990. These changes since 1990 are described with regard to the initial situation and framing conditions for the written Abitur examination. Two time periods are considered: (1) the examination situation in the FRG and GDR before 1990 and (2) the changes in the five eastern German federal states (former GDR) under the system change and accession to the FRG after 1990 but before the PISA shock.

“Greetings from the Apocalypse”: Race, Migration, and Fear after German Reunification

AbstractIn the early 1990s, reunified Germany faced surging numbers of asylum seekers and a wave of far-right violence against foreigners. In letters that German citizens wrote to President Richard von Weizsäcker, it is clear that some Germans feared that the arrival of large numbers of non-Germans would bring about the collapse of the state or the destruction of the German people. This article engages with the history of fear in postwar Germany by examining Germans’ post-reunification fears of migration and foreigners. I argue, first, that a biological understanding of race was still surprisingly widespread as late as the early 1990s. Second, I call for a substantially more nuanced understanding of German reunification, one that emphasizes uncertainty and the terrifying openness of the future. Finally, I highlight the intersection of race thinking and memory by showing that racial fears were frequently shaped by memories of Germany's dark past.